Modest is hottest?
"What does a modest dressing woman stand for? Regardless of faith, she stands for the belief that a woman should be appreciated for her intellect and not valued for the shape of her body. In electing to cover herself, she is not oppressed: She is empowered. She challenges people around her to look past her exterior, to the strength and beauty that lies within. To me this notion transcends geography, religion and culture. Women have long fought the battle for equality but so long as their worth as individuals is based on the superficial--youth, beauty, sexuality--the value of their human capital is undermined..."
Sarah Ansari, founder of Artizara Clothing
This Sunday I will be speaking to about 75 teenagers ages 12-18 about the importance of dressing modestly. I love the quote above, but am having some trouble figuring out how to put those ideas (and others) into terms that the kids can grasp onto.
So many girls feel that when they dress modestly, they are outdated, abnormal and unappealing. And who can blame them? Our society applauds physical perfection and promotes standards of beauty that are unrealistic and fake (if you know what I mean).
Any insight on this topic would be helpful. How do you convince teenagers that there is so much more to them than the way they look?
8 comments:
this is interesting.
i think one of the things and i have no idea how you would do this. but if you take someone like the guy on the office, not the boss but the other guy, have no idea his name. the one who likes the secretary.
and show a picture of him pre office he looks kind of nerdy - but then if you show a picture of him in the ads during Christmas at the GAP he looks totally awesome - even though he doesn't look any different the point is his personality is what makes that guy look great on a GAP ad. pre office - he would have never been picked to be in that ad.
There are a ton of people who are famous, funny, popular and it is because of who they are not what they look like - i guess i would try to find examples of these...
does that even make sense.
you will do a great job, just make sure you don't wear that halter dress... hee hee!
oh wow. not an easy task!
I remember one of Standards lessons when I was a yW ....were you there at the time? I can't remember her name now, but she was in the potomac ward and used to be a model...she came in to teach this lesson, and she actually had a dress on, but underneath, she had a tight black body suit dress.SHe had the girls close their eyes while she undressed. the dress covered her garments...barely...but tight tight tight. She recited the YW theme in it and asked the girls how the felt. It was rather shocking! I am not saying that you should do that...it was REALLY extreme,but she got her point across. But I remember Monette *i think* videod a bunch of BOYS and had them say what they liked about girls, and if they liked modest vs. immodest. they were really awesome and it really hit home. another thing, is talk about how much is out there that IS modest. I was just looking at shabby apple today (shabbyapple.com) and was reminded that great clothes can be modest. (started by an LDS woman...great style). This isn't really the *core* of why to be modest, but it does address the surface.
I also try and remember that my body is a gift. who am I to flaunt it when GOD gave it to me? I could be handycapped, or physically cripple...would I want to be immodest then?
Oh and one more thing...drawing attention to yourself is selfish. plain old vain. You can look good and feel good but when the objective is to draw attention to yourself, that is just plain dumb. Ok...don't say it like that,but you get the point:)
great blog jen!!!i am so glad that I found yours!!!
WOW! Thanks to both of you. Your ideas are great and REALLY helpful--object lessons are the best. Maybe I SHOULD have them close their eyes then be standing there in a bikini! : ) Let them see the FREAKISH realities of a body after four kids. That'd be something they'd never forget!
Jen,
Please no bikini! I am still recovering from last year at OBX. J/K...
Luvs,
JM
You need to get that skinny girl with big yubbies off, she is making me depressed.
I told you to ask me the next time you put my body on your blog. I do look good though don't I.
love your sister,
Jessica
I think someone really smart once said that dressing modestly leaves more to the imagination, which in turn, makes a Woman more attractive. People love the chase...on both sides of the fence. It's more fun to chase the modest Woman!
We all know that most Men are pigs and are stimulated by appearance first and foremost. That's why there is such a huge market for immodest clothes, pornography and the like. However, if you really want to attract the right kind of Dude, then you are right, be pretty with make up, perfume, clothes and the what not...but, make sure that the guy isn't lusting after your body for the first, second and third meetings. He'll pay attention more to what you have to say than trying to get a sneak peak at what you are putting out there on the table. Besides, he'll love you more for it in the future...if there is a future.
Well said Eggy--SO TRUE, all of it. You pretty much summarized the final section of my talk. How nice to have it validated by a MAN.
The pics a nice touch, BTW.
Post a Comment